Cliff Johnson has built one of Mississippi’s more decorated legal careers.

Over more than three decades, he has been named Mississippi Trial Lawyer of the Year, recognized as a Public Justice National Trial Lawyer of the Year, selected as a Mid-South Super Lawyer, and listed in Best Lawyers in America.

And those are only some of the highlights.

But perhaps the most revealing thing about Cliff Johnson’s career isn’t what he has accomplished.

It’s how he chose to do it.

Johnson has spent much of his career fighting for people with very little power of their own.

In Scott County, for example, Johnson was part of a legal team that challenged a system where people accused of crimes could sit in jail for months without being indicted.

His work resulted in a systemic change requiring public defenders to be appointed at arrest.

In Corinth, Johnson helped change a system that jailed poor people who could not afford fines or bail.

These are just two examples of a clear pattern across Johnson’s career.

Johnson has been devoted to people who may never be able to do much for him in return.

And he didn’t stop with the people he represented.

Johnson has also spent years teaching the next generation of Mississippi lawyers.

At the MacArthur Justice Clinic, University of Mississippi law students work under Johnson on actual cases.

For a young lawyer, that kind of experience is difficult to put a price on.

And Johnson’s story is especially important because he is now asking North Mississippi to trust him with something different.

Political power.

Johnson is the Democratic nominee for Congress in Mississippi’s First Congressional District.

His campaign has attracted attention for plenty of reasons.

He has raised substantial money and even appeared in a campaign advertisement with fellow Mississippian Morgan Freeman.

But those things don’t tell voters about the man underneath the decorated lawyer and now congressional candidate.

Whether voters agree with Johnson on every issue is ultimately for them to decide.

But his candidacy offers something more substantial to examine than campaign promises alone.

They can look at what he did before he ever asked for a vote.

For years, Johnson has represented people confronting institutions far more powerful than they were.

And he has taught young lawyers how to do the same.

His campaign for Congress is another chapter in that same story.

Cliff Johnson is not simply an accomplished lawyer.

He is a man who has repeatedly chosen to use what he knows to help other people.

On November 3, Mississippi will decide whether to send a man like Cliff Johnson, who has a demonstrated history of using his talents to help others, to Congress.